Windows of Opportunity
by Iceache
Summary: Determined to heal his broken friendship with Brennan and move forward in his relationship with Hannah, Booth reaches out to his partner only to be forced into facing some hard truths about his relationships with both women.
1. Chapter 1

He'd told her that he needed to move on, he had. At the time she had accepted that, had believed it to be for the best, but on that night outside the Hoover building, the risk that he took had damaged more than their partnership, it had damaged her resolve.

Maluku had afforded her the important time that she needed to gain perspective, she'd missed him, fantasised about a relationship with him and although she hadn't been decidedly aware of her feelings for Booth when she returned from her sabbatical, she had been forced to acknowledge them when he announced that he had found someone new.

It had been a hard few months, watching Booth conduct his relationship with the sassy reporter, Brennan had found it impossible not to understand exactly why he loved Hannah, there was so much about the reporter that she could identify with and she would admit that she rarely found that kind of connection with anyone. Angela aside, of course.

When she had admitted that she regretted her refusal of his attempts to take their relationship forward, she wasn't surprised that he had rejected her, in fact, she hadn't thought it through at all. Given some perspective, she wouldn't have dared risk hurting her friend's feelings, or attempted to interfere in his relationship. Fact was, that meltdown in his car, in the pouring rain, it had finally been the catalyst to let her know that she could no longer pretend that she was living her life. She wasn't, never taking risks meant that she would never reap any rewards. The rejection stung, naturally, but she knew that she had the capacity to love now. If nothing else, Booth had certainly given her that.

That was in the past now, she'd resolved to pick up the metaphorical pieces and move on after she'd learned that Hannah was aware of her feelings for her partner. After she'd realised that what went on between them, was no longer _theirs_. The time had come to make a life for herself, just like everyone around her had. So, when at a Jeffersonian Gala, an undeniably attractive barman had struck up a conversation with her and asked for her number, she had uncharacteristically given it.

They'd been on a few dates, she'd kept it to herself though, for some reason it seemed the right thing to do. Perhaps she liked the idea that what went on between her and Mark was 'theirs', or perhaps she wanted to ensure that the relationship was going somewhere. For the first time in a long time, she was beginning to feel happy, and especially at this particular moment in time, because she was going on another date with Mark, and someone had just knocked on her door.

**Xxxxxxxxxxx**

She laughs as she opened the door "You're early Ma…" Her eyes widen when she sees Booth on the other side of the threshold with an odd expression on his face, and not her date. "Booth? Do we have a case?"

He lets his eyes wander from hers to take in her appearance before dragging them back to her face, trying to appear casual "I just thought I would drop by, I was in the neighbourhood." He attempts a smile but it doesn't quite reach his eyes. "You're going out." It's a statement, not a question, but for a lack of anything else to say to him she responds.

"Yes". She quickly peers into the hallway behind him, before meeting his eyes and gesturing for him to enter the apartment which he does, but not without a measure of awkwardness. Closing the door behind him she reaches for the earrings on the sideboard and walks into the living area with him trailing behind.

"I don't want to intrude Bones, if you need to be somewhere I'll head home." She turns to look at him and offers a small smile as she fixes one of the earrings into place and gives him a dismissive wave with the other hand.

"I have a bit of time." She starts to place the other earring and looks around the floor for her shoes while he looks around the apartment uncomfortably, suddenly feeling out of place in her home. "Is there something in particular that you wished to discuss?" She stops fiddling with the earring, scoops up a pair of killer stilettoes and makes her way over to the sofa to slip them on and lifts her eyes to meet his.

"No… like I said, just in the neighbourhood. What time are you going out?" His eyes drift to the clock, quarter to seven, it suddenly dawns on him that he should have called her in advance, he hasn't shown up at her apartment for anything non-work related in months and catching her when she is, in all appearances, preparing for a date makes him feel awkward in all kinds of ways that he won't even begin to consider.

"Seven…. time for a beer if you would like one?" Her expression is neutral, he knows that she is making a simple offer, but he can't bring himself to accept. With a sad shake of his head he wonders when it was that things between them became so strained, she feels like a distant cousin, not the woman that he has jumped in front of a bullet for.

He flops onto the armchair casually and lets out a small sigh. "I should have called Bones, I'm sorry. I didn't realise that you had plans this evening."

She stands from the sofa and strides to the dining table to rifle through her purse for something "How could you have realised, we haven't spoken in.." She looks up thoughtfully, calculating the time that had elapsed since their last conversation. "five days." Her concentration returns to whatever it is that she is looking through her purse for and she misses the wince on his face, her hand withdraws a few moments later with a small bottle of perfume which she applies to her wrists and then a small amount is dabbed against each side of her neck.

"I'm sorry."

She doesn't attempt to hide her confusion. "Sorry for what?"

"For not being a better friend to you. I should have been in touch."

She cocks her head to one side, considering something before replying "In that case I am also sorry."

Pushing himself to his feet he smiles gently at her. "For what Bones."

"If our lack of contact makes you feel that you are not performing your duties as a friend, then I too must apologise, I also have not initiated contact with you." Her expression is honest and he can't help the smile that blossoms. Reaching toward her, he takes her hand and presses it in his.

"How about we both agree to make more of an effort to catch up more often?" He breaks out the charm smile, she's never been able to resist that, and sometimes he is unable to help himself from using it on her. The smell of her perfume reminds him of easier times between them, of guys hugs and mummy exhibitions at the Jeffersonian.

Her eyes soften and she smiles gently at him, with a small nod of her head she assents. "I would like that very much."

A knock at the door breaks the spell and when he draws his attention away from it back to her eyes, the sparkle that has suddenly appeared in them causes the air to rush from his lungs. Her hand falls from his gentle grasp and she hurries to the door causing him to wonder if she ever rushed as eagerly to the door when he was on the other side, he watches the genuine smile on her face and sees a man, slightly younger than himself and arguably better looking, take her hand and walk into her for a gentle kiss. He knows he shouldn't be watching them so openly, but he's fascinated by her interaction with this nameless man, she's open and affectionate, and he is forced to acknowledge that this is not their first, or even their second date, this is the person that she is spending her free time with now.

It isn't until he is standing in front of them both that he realises that his feet have moved, and she gives him an unguarded smile. "Booth, this is Mark.. Mark, this is Booth, we work on cases together from time to time for the FBI."

He doesn't know why that last comment hurts a little, but it does. Mark extends a hand to him and gives him an easy smile. "Nice to meet you, I didn't actually know that Temperance worked on cases for the FBI." Another stab, she hadn't even mentioned him to her date, but his hand is extended and he forces a smile.

"Well, I would hope that you talk about more than work anyway, get her started and she never stops." She smiles bashfully at the good natured jibe and excuses herself to grab her purse from the counter and her coat. Mark places a book that had gone unnoticed in his hand onto the sideboard.

"Temperance, I brought that Nietzsche book for you that we were discussing last week, I thought you might like to read some of his philosophies for yourself." Booth chances a glance at the book title "God is Dead." A look of disgust causes Mark to follow his gaze and then return his eyes to meet Booth's. "Have you read it?" Booth shakes his head. "It's not really about God being dead, it's more about the Christian faith and why people in a day and age of science cling onto the belief of a higher being. Temperance said that she would like to understand faith and belief more, I'm a church goer myself and I suppose that Temperance and I will always differ in that respect, I thought that this book would help her understand a bit more of what I believe, since it's written in a perspective that she might more easily understand."

Booth nods quietly as Brennan joins them, she looks incredible and the time and care that she has taken to ready herself for her date is painfully obvious. However it isn't _his_ mouth that utters words telling her how beautiful she looks, nor is it _his_ lips she presses her against with a simple thank you, it's Mark's. "I should get going, let you two get out and start your date." She nods and Mark offers another friendly smile.

"I'll speak to you soon?" She smiles gently at him and he offers her a returned gesture with a nod.

As he is leaving he overhears the distinctive sound of another kiss followed by Mark's comment that 'he seemed nice'. Whatever Brennan said was muffled by the sounds of his hurried footsteps down the hallway. He'd come here tonight, shown up without invitation, on a whim because he outright missed his best friend. It had only served to remind him of why he'd been distancing himself from her since their return to D.C., he couldn't deal with the on-going conflict of his feelings for his best friend and his girlfriend. He'd told her he needed to move on, he'd told her that he had, but now she was moving on too and he needed to acknowledge that it hurt like hell.

****

**OK, so it's not the best start, but you know what, I am tired of this new Booth. It's time for him to figure some things out, and it's time for Brennan to get a new love interest, someone who is genuinely a great guy, secure in his relationship and status in life and not intimidated by her intelligence. You know what, I am going to give that to her. I am sadly a shipper, so poor Mark will have to bite the dust eventually, but not until Booth has paid for some of this crppy season six attitude. **

**Disagree? Write a review sweetheart, I'd love to argue my point further! Grrr.**


	2. Chapter 2

**I just wanted to say a huge thanks to everyone for the feedback, I really appreciate it, and I'm glad that you are all enjoying Mark as much as I am. It's nice to see Brennan get an out from her emotional tug of war with Booth, and we all know that he's got A LOT more thinking to do and apologies to make before he can truly deserve her again. **

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

She kicks off her shoes in the darkness of her apartment and drops her purse onto the table, rubbing a weary hand over her face she strips off her jacket and makes her way to the bedroom. Draping the coat over the chair she begins to unfasten the buttons of her denims.

"Temperance?" Mark's sleepy voice causes her to look up and throw an apologetic smile in his direction "What time is it?" He twists over onto his back and glances at the clock, it's five after three and he lets out a sleepy yawn before turning his eyes back to her. "Everything okay?"

Lifting his discarded t-shirt from the floor she pulls it over her head and pulls the hair from the collar to rest on her shoulders before sliding onto the bed and laying down to face him. "I'm sorry I had to cancel our plans this evening." He runs a hand through her hair gently and pulls her toward him for a gentle kiss.

"It's ok. I saw the news."

"Yes, the Gravedigger is dead, murdered." Her eyes drop down to their now entwined hands.

"Do you want to talk about it?" When his eyes find hers, they appear genuinely concerned and that causes her own to mist with tears. She shakes her head slowly before squeezing his hand.

"Not tonight." She pushes herself up from the bed and slides under the covers next to him. "I'm glad you're here." He pulls her closer to him and pulls one of her legs to rest over his, stroking her calf and smiling in what he hopes is a reassuring manner.

"I'm glad too, and I'm here whenever you want to talk okay, if this case is too hard, I want you to feel that you are able to talk to me about it, whatever it takes." The rough gravel of his sleep fuelled voice sends a shiver through her.

"Thank you." She searches his eyes for a moment and he smiles questioningly. "I found myself very content in knowing that you would be here when I arrived home tonight, I know it is irrational, but I felt that I would sleep easier with you next to me. I would never have previously attributed the quality of my sleep to another person's presence, it seems strange to do so now."

He rewards her with a toothy grin which she can't help mirroring. "I'm glad you feel that way Temperance, because I'm hoping that we are going to make a habit out of this, out of us." She lets out a low throaty chuckle, the one that he secretly loves best, and pulls him in for a kiss that quickly begins to build heat. He pulls back slowly but reluctantly and presses another chaste kiss against her lips. "I think that tonight, and I know I'll be kicking myself for saying this but, you need to rest, you look exhausted right now, tomorrow I'll get up a bit earlier and grab us some breakfast, then I'll take you to work." Running a finger gently across her jawline he sees her let out a soft contented sigh and nod in agreement.

She turns until her back is facing him and he moulds her into his frame, his grip around her waist is secure but gentle and a few moments later, as she listens to his breathing deepen as he slips into sleep, she thinks of how well they fit before her exhaustion pulls her under.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

She sits in a small booth at The Founding Fathers waiting for Mark to return from the bar with their drinks, normally she would have celebrated a post-case drink with her partner, but when he'd asked her to join him earlier in the day she had declined stating that she had already made her plans. When he'd looked at her with disappointed eyes she had been quick to explain that the case wasn't solved, so really she was not breaking any traditions. Besides, his arm was in a sling and he couldn't move around without his crutch, she expected that Hannah would prefer that he just head home. She didn't argue that she had shared a drink with Hannah after they had solved their last case and not him, she didn't think it was relevant.

She had reluctantly agreed to leaving work a little earlier than normal to meet Caroline at the diner with him for a coffee instead. Max had shown up, heading back off to who knows where, it was obvious that he had wanted to see his daughter and re-establish their connection.

For a few moments she had found herself alone with her father and she'd taken the time to apologise for being so evasive when he had tried to bring up the subject of Booth, she'd explained that she had met someone new and that she was trying to be happy. Smiling at her, he had simply slung an arm around her shoulders and pressed a soft kiss to her temple before they were joined by a suspicious looking Caroline. Neither was able to converse on the subject in any depth.

After seeing her father off in his cab, she had returned to the table in the diner, her ceramic sea shell in hand, and made her excuses to Booth, she was due to meet Mark and she was anxious to be on time, it had been a hard week after all for everyone. Booth had rejected her offer to help him into a cab, stating that he'd rather have another coffee and with a nod and a wide smile that refused to disappear she had left him. She didn't look back, so she missed the look of regret that followed her retreating form out of the door and into the street.

Mark's presence shakes her from her thoughts as he slides in beside her with their drinks. She takes hers from his grasp and smiles before taking a sip. "Thank you."

"You're welcome… I've been thinking, maybe, and only if you want to, we could have some drinks with your friends." He often finds her expression hard to read, now being no exception, so he hurries to elaborate on his request. "You speak about Angela and Cam and Booth all the time, and I just would really like to meet them in person, I mean, I'll understand if you'd rather not, I just…"

She cuts him off with a quick kiss on the lips and smiles, cocking her head to the side. "I'll arrange for you to meet them, soon."

He grins at her. "Great. I'll make sure I remember to wear my intelligent cap."

"Intelligence can't be attributed to inanimate objects.." She takes in his amused expression. "Oh, you were making a joke." She laughs good naturedly and he pulls her into a bear hug causing her to sigh contentedly. "I would very much like to introduce you to my work colleagues, my friends."

Pulling back, he cradles her face in his hands and brushes his thumb over her jaw "I just really feel like this is going somewhere, I want to know as much about you as you'll let me." For the first time in a long time, she felt that perhaps she really also wanted someone, _him_, to know everything about her. She pulls him closer and presses her lips to his again, smiling against her he easily submits to her will.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Booth pushes his door open, balancing on his crutch and trying desperately to not jar his arm against the wooden frame. Hobbling inside the apartment, he nudges it closed behind him and drops his keys onto the sideboard. "Hannah?" No answer. He shuffles forward into the lounge and peers into the kitchen, there's no one home but on the counter there's a note from her, another story, another couple of nights out of town. Crumpling up the note he throws it towards the waste basket missing it entirely and chuckles bitterly marvelling at just how crappy his aim is these days, it seems he can't get anything right. Shuffling to the fridge, he pulls out a beer and slowly makes his way over to the sofa. In her haste to pack Hannah's managed to leave some lingerie strewn over the back of the chair and a hairdryer on the table, flopping down onto the sofa, he doesn't bother to move her stuff.

After a few frustrating moments of attempting to open his bottle with one hand, he finally succeeds and takes a long pull from the bottle before letting out an exhausted sigh. Another hard week, another hard case and his mind is whirring, if only he were able to lie and convince himself that the case was the only thing on his mind. It wasn't, nor was it about how much he would miss his girlfriend, tonight it would seem, his partner was the only thing on his mind. Truth be told, it was becoming a bit of a recurrent theme. _Again_.

Back in that car, when she'd poured her heart out to him, he'd been angry, angry at her for waiting until it was too late… but mainly angry at himself for not holding out for what he _knew_ was real. He'd turned her down in his SUV in the rain, naturally it was the only thing he could do, but it didn't mean that he wasn't torturing himself over it every day, he had been. She'd told him that her world had flipped upside down in three days, and now, she had done the same thing to his world. He wanted her, Hannah or no Hannah, and now he couldn't have her. Now she had someone else.

A blind man could see the change in her over the past month, she had been grinning like a fool last week when he'd arrived at the lab, it had taken him a full two seconds to deduce that her relationship with the handsome barman had moved to another level, and it took a whole lot of Seeley Booth's will power to not question her about it. That afternoon had been long and tortured, because despite knowing that he shouldn't, he couldn't stop taunting himself with images of another man's hands on her. He'd only met Mark once, and only for a brief period before his partner was swept away on a date, and he'd seemed nice and very interested in Temperance Brennan.

Another sigh, another long pull from the bottle and he rests his head against the back of the sofa and just before the painkillers sweep him off into darkness he wonders what she's doing now.

**Tut Tut Booth, you can't have everything. There's going to be some hard decisions coming up sunshine. **


	3. Chapter 3

True to her word, Brennan arranged for the team to get together for drinks the following weekend, Sweets brought Daisy, Cam asked Paul to join them and Booth and Hannah were both in attendance. Booth had grumbled slightly at receiving his invitation via his girlfriend rather than from his partner who had taken the time to invite everyone else. Hannah had naturally defended her friend by insisting that it was merely more convenient for Hannah to ask him since Brennan had asked Angela and herself earlier in the week during one of their lunch meetings. He'd simply shaken his head in dismissal.

Apart from Booth being a bit out of sorts, everyone else seemed to be enjoying themselves, Mark was a hit with the ladies right off the bat and Hannah had leaned in front of Booth to whisper her approval to Brennan who had responded rather enthusiastically about how much she was enjoying her time with him. Booth had excused himself abruptly to go to the bar causing a raised eyebrow from Hannah but Brennan was distracted by Mark leaning into her and placing a soft kiss on the side of her neck.

"I like your friends." He nuzzles her temple with his nose and she leans into him.

Hannah glances at the bar, Booth is leaning against it, his gaze boring holes into his partner and her boyfriend, but on feeling her eyes on him he tears his away and smiles at her, as though he hasn't just been caught out.

"I like that you like my friends." Brennan turns to Mark with an affectionate grin. "This was a good idea, I think that we should do this more often, if you would like."

"I would like that a lot." He looks at his phone on the table which has lit up and vibrating, an incoming call. The screen reads 'Mom and Pop', so with a sheepish grin and another kiss to her temple Mark excuses himself to take the call in the street outside of The Founding Fathers.

Angela slides into Mark's now vacated seat and gives Brennan a nudge with her shoulder accompanied by a saucy grin. "Sweetie, he is so cute!" Brennan blushes uncharacteristically.

"Yes, I find that I like him very much."

"It doesn't bother you that he's only a barman?" Booth slides back onto his chair next to Hannah. The blonde reporter looks mortified by his question, Angela throws him a warning glance and Sweets suddenly loses interest in Hodgins' and Cam's debate about experiments.

"Seeley!"

"What? Bones is a career driven woman, she's made it plain that she likes successful men, Mark must barely get by, what with rent and bills. You're not a little disappointed that he's not as serious about his job as you are?"

Before anyone can interject, Brennan's steely gaze rises to his challenge, and for a second he is shamed by the hurt that he sees in her eyes, but it's gone just as quickly as it appeared and she juts her chin out defiantly. "Not at all, money is not important to me and it obviously isn't to Mark either, and if career markers were taken into consideration Booth, I would never have had feelings for you in the past." His eyes falter and they both silently acknowledge that she has won this challenge. Brennan's eyes flit to Hannah who gives her a nod and a reassuring smile to let her know that she isn't upset with her for bringing up the past. Angela on the other hand is attempting to hide her smirk behind her drink while watching Booth shift uncomfortably in his seat.

Sweets, knowing that Booth may very well take up previous threats of serious bodily harm, can't help but feel that he should redeem Mark and so finds himself leaning into Brennan across the table and saying just loud enough for everyone, including the agent to hear "Mark was telling me that he has his Masters in Economics, he studied at Harvard?"

Brennan smils at him gratefully, seeing this out for what it was. "Yes, his parents are successful business owners in Massachusetts."

"So why didn't he go into the business?" Hannah was quick to jump in and show Brennan that there were no hard feelings, she knew that Booth was being an ass and she knew exactly the reason why.

"Mark decided that he wanted to travel the world, see as much of it as he could before he took over the family business when his parents retire. He has visited more countries than even myself. He was supposed to be travelling to Tibet in a month's time, he has however decided to cancel his trip." She smiled a little self-consciously and it was evident to everyone at the table that she was the sole reason for that decision.

A hand on her shoulder alerts her to Mark's presence but when she turns to him smiling, the expression on his face is enough to motivate her off of her chair. "Mark?"

"Can we go outside for a minute?"

"Yes of course" she allows him to lead her outside with an arm around her shoulders. She misses the glance that Booth throws her way, and the curious stare that the psychologist serves him with.

Once outside, she wraps her arms around her shoulders against the cold breeze that assaults her and waits patiently for Mark to begin.

"It's my dad, he's had a heart attack." Her hand reaches for his arm and he places his hand atop hers gratefully. "My mom needs me to go up there, the doctors don't know much of anything right now, I just know that I need to get there quickly."

"I know some very good doctors." She quickly interjects. "I'm very sorry about your father, but heart attacks are fairly common and though frightening right now, your father has a good chance of recovering fully." He lifts her hand to his lips and presses a soft kiss to it before she lays her palm against his cheek. "I'm not very good at saying the right thing at times like this, but if you need me to come with you I will arrange the appropriate leave with Cam.." She's half turning to go back inside and demand some personal time when he draws her back to him with a hand on her shoulder.

"I know that you would drop everything to come with me, despite hating taking any kind of personal leave, and I love you for it. I think that I should go ahead alone, get a handle on the situation… and if I need you to come up there and support me, I swear I'll call you right away." He looks unsure that she'll accept this, and although a part of her strongly desires to be with him in his hour of need she reluctantly nods her acceptance. Pulling her into a bear hug he breathes her in deeply and sighs into her hair "I don't deserve you Temperance, but I'm damn to glad to have you in my corner."

Angela watches the scene unfolding from inside, completely unaware of what's happening between her friend and Mark, aware only that it is serious. She smiles when she sees them share a tender kiss and another long hug before Mark leaves her alone in the street. Angela slides from her stool and starts to waddle towards the entrance to The Founding Fathers, not realising that Booth who has also been witnessing the scene is on his way to do the same thing. She puts a hand on his shoulder and shakes her head.

"I'll go Booth, you go back to Hannah." He opens his mouth to protest, but sensing the apprehensive gaze from his girlfriend he nods and rejoins Hannah at the table.

Brennan is already through the entrance door and on her way back to the table when she happens upon Angela, her expression is tired and she no longer looks up to spending any time with her friends. "Sweetie? What's wrong? Where's Mark?"

"His father suffered a coronary event, Mark has returned to Massachusetts to be with his family."

"Oh God, that's horrible." The artist steers her back to the table and onto her stool. "Are you going with him?"

"I offered, but he told me that he will call me if I'm needed. There is nothing to suggest that his father is not going to pull through at this time." Looking for her purse and her coat she mumbles "I don't much feel like staying, I would rather go home now."

"Of course, I'll come with you." Angela goes to grab Jack but Brennan smiles at her gratefully.

"I would rather be alone Angela, but I appreciate the offer." Angela searches her face for a moment and sees that she is being serious, she nods silently but her eyes expressing her deepest sympathy for her friend. With a brief goodnight to her friends Brennan sweeps out of The Founding Fathers before any further questions can be asked and before anyone else can offer to take her home.

**So Mark's out of the picture for now, not off of the scene entirely, but Booth's definitely going to take advantage of the time that he has with her alone. **

**Interested? Well let me know with a review… I'm not above begging lol**


	4. Chapter 4

Mark had kept in touch, his father's condition was much worse than anyone had anticipated and the doctors were treating him as well as they could under the circumstances. Brennan had always breathed a sigh of relief when he'd called her and given her a progress report, and despite the family crisis, he had always managed to let her know how much he missed her and for that she was grateful because the feeling was mutual.

The time apart had given her a lot of time to reflect on their relationship and she had realised that she cared for Mark deeply. He was easy to care for, his manners were easy and his amiable nature and good looks had helped her to forget about her awkward relationship with her partner. During his last call he had asked her to come up to the family home in Massachusetts for a weekend, and not being able to contain her desire to see him she had arranged with Cam that evening to have the following day off through to the Monday, packed a bag and jumped into her car for the drive. In her haste she forgot to inform Angela or Booth of her plans, but she had her cell with her, and she reasoned she wasn't going into the middle of the Congo, she was within reach. It had occurred to her in the car that she should call, but she surmised that they probably wouldn't have contacted her that weekend anyway. She was right.

Mark's family were warm and welcoming, she had been enveloped in his mother's arms before she'd even gotten over the threshold to greet Mark and he'd stood back smiling at her affectionately from the hallway as he watched his mother fuss over her. Despite the uncertainty regarding his father's health, everyone ensured that she felt as comfortable as possible during her stay.

Mark had swept her upstairs to his room, and if his family had suspected why, they were too polite to let on. No longer had the door closed behind them, he'd swept her into his arms and kissed her with all of the longing that he'd felt in her absence, she could do nothing other than smile against his mouth and return his passion. An hour or so later, as they'd laid in each other's arms in bed he'd whispered against her hair all of the things that he'd been thinking about since the last time that he'd held her and for once she'd felt content.

They'd visited his father in the hospital the next day, despite being in a critical condition, the man had insisted on a hug and kiss on the cheek from Brennan and she'd instantly fallen in love with his warm eyes and charm, in fact she'd been sad to leave, but promised another visit soon, something he'd advised he'd hold her to.

But all too soon the weekend was over and Brennan was watching Mark place her bag in the trunk of her car along with various foil wrapped dishes that his mother had insisted she take home with her. It had dawned on her then that it might be some weeks before they would see one another again, by the expression on his face, he had also come to the same realisation. He'd folded her in his arms and kissed her, and then with his forehead against hers he'd told her that he loved her, he'd told her that it was okay if she couldn't say it back, if she could never say it back, but that he wanted her to know. He'd also told her that he didn't know what the next day would bring, he didn't know if they'd last a lifetime, he just told her that right now, in this moment, this is what he was offering. Tears had sprung to her eyes and she had nodded with a smile and a kiss. The words that he spoke would normally have scared her, made her run, but Mark Richards knew how to speak Brennan-language and she felt a thrill when he'd spoken the words. He was offering her something that she could understand. Something that she had begun to think she wanted.

Her heart had been heavy and light all at the same time as she had driven home, despite her happiness at Mark's declaration she had also experienced an unsettling uneasiness that she couldn't place.

A day later, however found Brennan back at the lab and in the middle of the study of an ancient Indian warrior that had been shipped to the Jeffersonian for specialist investigation. In fact that was exactly where Booth had just found her.

"Hey Bones, come on, I'm taking you to lunch." He skipped up the steps to the platform two at a time and swiped his card through the security scanner, his partner however had not yet lifted her eyes from the remains in front of her to acknowledge that she'd even heard him. "Bones…"

"I'm busy Booth, I'll grab something from the cafeteria later." Her brush off wasn't going to deter him, he was determined to get her out into a social setting, he was desperate to repair their friendship, in fact he had deliberately avoided all contact with her over the weekend so that he could take the time to seriously think about how he could make reparations. The truth was, he had surmised that time would be the only solution, and he was determined now to spend every free minute that he could with his partner.

"Bones, I'm not taking no for an answer, now I can stand here and bug you for the next hour which will distract you from your work, or you can come and grab something to eat with me for the next hour and get back to your bones undisturbed…. What do you say?"

She turned to look at him with a thoroughly bemused expression, but at the sight of his charm smile and hopeful eyes she rolled her own in response and began to snap the latex gloves off of her hands. "Fine…. You are incorrigible Booth." He fist pumped the air and started to pull lab coat from her shoulders. "You know Booth, I think that I was far more efficient before we started to work together."

Throwing her lab coat onto the chair beside the examination table he steered her in the direction of her office by the shoulders. "Aw come on Bones, you love me really." He felt her shoulders stiffen under his touch and silently cursed himself, but just as quickly she returned to her normal poise and shrugged his hands off casually. "Uh, I'll get you by the doors Bones." She nodded silently. He watched her disappear for a second and then rubbed a hand over his face with a weary sigh, he knew that he probably hadn't accounted for the amount of time that this would take.

Lunch was easy and natural, both laughed as though there had never been several continents and a blonde reporter between them, fries were stolen and more than once Booth leaned into her personal space and whispered in an all too familiar intimate hush. There was a time that Brennan would have pushed the boundaries and challenged him by leaning back into his space but for some reason it seemed inappropriate so she remained upright in her own chair. Booth asked about her weekend and all too soon wished that he hadn't.

"I went to Massachusetts, Mark asked me to spend the weekend with him and his family." Booth felt a pang in his chest, he'd often envisioned spending a weekend with his partner, grandfather and son, somewhere away from the city. "Mark told me he loves me."

Unfortunately Booth had been taking a sip of his water as those words left Brennan's mouth and he suddenly found himself spluttering and coughing and trying to catch his breath. "He said what?" Brennan handed him a napkin knowing full well that he had heard her. "Isn't that a bit soon, I mean you've only been dating for a couple of months." He sat back and crossed his arms over his chest defensively watching her sit back in her chair and do the same. The realisation struck him though, of course Mark was in love with her, what man wouldn't be, he himself had fallen for her the very moment he'd laid eyes on her.. a notion that she scoffed at, but it didn't make it any less true. "What do you think about that."

Her brows knit together as she considered the question. "I care for him, very much." Her eyes drop from his probing gaze. "I didn't expect to feel so much, but I do. I like him very much."

Booth was silent for another moment, just staring at her and once she determined to meet his eyes he nodded and forced a smile. "Good for you Bones. You deserve to be happy, and Mark…." He let out a sigh. "Mark is an incredibly lucky guy." They both held one another's gaze for a moment, a silent communication that neither could fully interpret taking place which may or may not have brought them to a mutual understanding had they not been interrupted by the untimely appearance of Sweets.

"Hey guys." Booth dragged his eyes from Brennan's to glare at the young psychologist. "You already eaten, can I join you?"

Brennan pushed her chair back and stood up grabbing her coat. "Actually Sweets, I need to get back to the Lab, you can have my chair." Both men watched her silently, Booth surprising them both by reaching across the table and grabbing onto Brennan's fingers to catch her attention.

"Can I drop by later?"

She seemed suddenly discomposed and Sweets watched the exchange with interest, feeling his eyes on them both Brennan nodded mutely and threw down a couple of bills before smiling at them both and making a swift exit. Sweets watched her leave the diner before sliding into her vacated chair and smiling at Booth. "What's going on between you and Dr Brennan?"

"Nothing is going on okay Sweets, Bones and I just need to work on getting our partnership back on track and putting the past behind us."

"What about Hannah?"

Booth suddenly looked pissed and the Psychologist immediately started to regret the question. "Hannah nothing okay, she's out of town right now on a White House tour, I'm taking advantage of the free time to try and work on my partnership."

"Guess it helps that Mark is also out of town right now huh?"

Booth shook his head and stood up smoothing the creases from his suit jacket before leaning menacingly towards his companion. "Stay out of it Sweets, you're the reason that we're in this goddamned mess anyway." Sweets opened his mouth to protest but was silenced by the agent's glare. "Enjoy your lunch Sweets." With that the agent stalked out of the diner leaving the Sweets to slump in his chair and shake his head in defeat.

**Sorry it took so long to update, things have been crazy lately. I wanted to keep Mark around for another chapter or two at least, but I also wanted to get Booth onto fixing the mess that he's created. Review if you want to see more. **


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